Can you explain federal flight control to me?

S

Super-Dave

New member
Someone told me that the pellets do not leave the shot cup until 15yards after firing. Is this true? Is this how the federal flight control keeps such tight patterns?
 
Depending on the shot cup, it might open as soon as 10 yds out or as far as 25 yds out of the muzzle, you can see this at the patterning board. And yes, that shot cup is how Federal Flight Control wads keep such tight patterns. There are many different types of wads, from spreader wads to pattern control wads. Middle of the road wads protect the shot and open moderately fast to give a medium spread, spreader wads open immediately and spread the pattern quickly, and pattern control wads hold the shot together longer to give denserer long-range patterns. You see spreader wads in skeet loads, good quality upland loads or trap loads will have a middle of the road wad, and waterfowl or turkey loads have pattern controlling wads.
 
Inconsistent or not, it works. :) MUCH tighter patterns than regular buckshot...really no comparison. Hornady TAP is close, but still not as good, IME. Now, at typical HD ranges, the super-tight patterns are probably not very important, and might even be considered a drawback by some. You're probably not going to be shooting an intruder at 25-30 yards...or if you do, you'll likely have a hellava time explaining to LE why your life was in imminent danger.

From Federal's website:

The revolutionary FLITECONTROL wad uses a rear-braking shot cup to stay with pellets longer and choke them into a lethally tight pattern. It eliminates the need for expensive aftermarket chokes and provides more pellets on target. This High Velocity copper-plated, buffered lead option will get to the bird faster.
 
The revolutionary FLITECONTROL wad uses a rear-braking shot cup to stay with pellets longer and choke them into a lethally tight pattern. It eliminates the need for expensive aftermarket chokes and provides more pellets on target. This High Velocity copper-plated, buffered lead option will get to the bird faster
Click to expand...

So, they're telling you you don't need a choke and that their wad will do that job? The wad's job is to cushion and keep the shot together down the barrel while providing a good gas seal - the choke determines the pattern density as the payload leaves the barrel
 
It eliminates the need for expensive aftermarket chokes
Click to expand...
It actually implies that you could get just as good results with factory supplied choke [tubes] as you would get if you paid MUCH more for them uber awesome aftermarket tubes.;)

Brent
 
To get an idea of how it works, you almost have to look at the wad. It doesn't open up like a conventional wad, rather the rear petals and the side tabs open to strip the wad away from the shot, which is contained in the tupe until the wad slows and leaves it.

Flite_Control_wad.jpg

A once-used Flite Control Wad.

Fine if you want extra-tight Buckshot patterns. I load some shells that hold all the pellets in a 7" circle at 25 yards, but I usually want a more open pattern.

DC
 
C'mon guys. It's just marketing rhetoric. Nothing new there. FliteControl works great. The rest of that stuff is just their marketeers talkin'.

I see it as a premier hunting round (works great on hogs at 25 yards...I've shot a few with it at approx. that distance).

For SD/HD...well, as I said earlier, some might actually feel the super-tight patterns are a drawback.
 
So, they're telling you you don't need a choke and that their wad will do that job? The wad's job is to cushion and keep the shot together down the barrel while providing a good gas seal - the choke determines the pattern density as the payload leaves the barrel
Click to expand...

Not any more. Enter the FliteControl wad.;)




Someone told me that the pellets do not leave the shot cup until 15yards after firing. Is this true? Is this how the federal flight control keeps such tight patterns?
Click to expand...

No, it opens up before 15 yds. as evidenced by the 4" plus patterns I get at that distance--but doesn't open until it's left the muzzle. A conventional wad has slit petals that catch the wind as soon as they leave the muzzle-- and release the shot immediately.



As .45 Colt's pic shows, the wad has petals at the rear which pop out like fins AFTER the wad leaves the bbl. The petals in the center are to relieve pressure on the wad so the buckshot won't hang up.

What it means is that the pattern is controlled by the wad itself and not effected by the choke. My own testing bears this out, since there's no difference between my Scattergun Tech cyl. bore and mofified waterfowl gun.

Four inch patterns at 10 yds., and slightly bigger at 15.

Federal has plated shot, while Hornady TAP, which utilizes the same wad, uses lead. Interesting that with my cyl. bore, about 1 rd. out of 4 fails to open and the wad and shot all go into the tgt. together. With my Imp cyl, also from Scattergun Tech, all TAP opens up as designed with patterns about like the Federal load. 4" at 10 to 15 yds and 7 to 9" patterns at 25 yds. (one pattern measured 7 by 9 on the nose"). IMO, the stuff has effective patterns to 35 yds. Maybe more.
 
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So, they're telling you you don't need a choke and that their wad will do that job?

They are, and it will. It's the buckshot load of choice here. Ammoman has Federal LE127-00 (9 pellets, 1325 fps) for $249/flat delivered right now, I just got another 250 rounds.

lpl
 
4'-6'

I try various gauges and loads at 8 yards on hard targets just because that is the longest possible shot in my house in a HD situation and the shot wad is always separate at that range. A paper target at that range will show it going through the paper but this video shows its not part of the shot column anymore.

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=30618664

Obviously results are different with each type of shell, shot size and gauge but my prime #1 gun to go to is a 20 gauge using #4 shot with an I/C choke. I usually find the shot cups about 15 yards down range, farther with the 12 and 10 gauge.
 
So, they're telling you you don't need a choke and that their wad will do that job?

They are, and it will. It's the buckshot load of choice here. Ammoman has Federal LE127-00 (9 pellets, 1325 fps) for $249/flat delivered right now, I just got another 250 rounds.
Click to expand...

This. FliteControl patterns extremely well out of a cylinder bore.
 
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